Egyptian army ousts President Mohamed MorsiLA Times – July 4, 2013Quote: But Obama did not call for Morsi to be returned to power, and he did not openly condemn the Egyptian military. Note: America lost influence in Egypt because they switched sides too many times. They threatened to take away financial assistance but Saudi Arabia pledged to make up any difference. Russia, Iran and Syria defeated AmericaArutz Sheva [Israeli] – September 12, 2013Quote: Iran, Syria and Russia have effectively defeated the United States, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Meir Rosenne, has warned.“The message to the world is that the United States no longer has the influence it once had.” “Now the impression is that Assad can keep on murdering his citizens using conventional means, and the West will not oppose him,” he stated.“America has now lost all deterrence in the Middle East”, he lamented.U.N. Security Council demands elimination of Syria chemical armsReuters - September 28, 2013Quotes: The resolution does not allow for automatic punitive action in the form of military strikes or sanctions if Syria does not comply. At Russia's insistence, Friday's resolution makes clear a second council decision would be needed for that. Obama called the Russian deal a victory but it seems that Russia got everything they wanted, namely, no automatic consequences. For Israel, Attack on Iran Seems off the TableABC News (AP) – October 2, 2013Quotes: Despite some tough rhetoric in a speech to the U.N. by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it will be all but impossible for Israel to take military action once negotiations between Iran and world powers resume. Of course, Israel’s focus is Iran, not Syria, but as long as President Rouhani shows a willingness to cooperate in nuclear negotiations, Israel’s hands are effectively tied, concerning a preemptive attack. Next Page: Recent Events (ISIS - Saudi Arabia - Turkey)Daniel 11: 24-27Previous Page: The British MandateDaniel 11:20

America’s Role in End Times ... beginsDaniel 11:22Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. Part 1: prophecy fulfilled – “an overwhelming army swept away” A key element in the first part of this verse is that the ‘overwhelming army’ is not defeated by the final empire but is ‘swept away’ by someone else. That fits perfectly with the actions of the United States, when they swept Saddam Hussein from power in 2003, because he was the primary obstacle to Iran becoming the next ‘king of the North’. Background: In order for Iran to rise as an empire, which included ancient Mesopotamia, like other empires had done, things had to change in Iraq. That’s because Iraq is located in the heart of ancient Mesopotamia (north of the Euphrates River). Iran had already amassed considerable influence in Syria because the Assad dynasty is Alawite, an off-shoot of Shia Islam. However, Iraq was totally different because Saddam Hussein was Sunni and he wasn’t about to warm up to the new Shia Republic in Iran.The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) Saddam Hussein came to power in Iraq about six months after the Islamic Revolution and immediately became a problem for Iran. Since Iraq is about 60% Shiite, Saddam feared his country would be targeted next so rather than wait, he pre-empted an attack in 1980 while Iran was pre-occupied with the American Embassy hostage crisis. The plan worked well at first but Iran re-captured all their original territory by 1982. At that time, Saddam offered a truce but Khomeini rejected it and announced, “The regime in Baghdad must fall and be replaced by an Islamic Republic”. At that time, Saddam resorted to chemical weapons to hold Iran back and the war dragged on for 8 years. Casualty estimates range from 500,000 to over 1 million. Yet, the war ended in 1988 with no significant change in the border. Prophecy Fulfilled The stalemate between Iran and Iraq remained for over a decade until the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and removed the Sunni dictator. The origin can be traced back to the World Trade Center attack on 9/11/2001, which started America’s current war on terrorism. However, as far as I know, there were no Iraqis ever connected to that attack. Nor were weapons of mass destruction ever found, which was the main pretext for invading. Whatever the excuse, it was bound to happen because America’s invasion of Iraq was prophesied in Daniel 11. Now, thanks to the United States, the Iraqi government is Shiite and becoming closer to Iran all the time, which wasn’t going to happen under Saddam or his sons, who were poised to stay in power for decades to come. A major event occurred the very next daybecause Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, issued an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President, Tariq al-Hashimi, accusing him of running a “death squad” that orchestrated several assassinations. In reality, it took only one day for the coalition government, which the Americans worked so hard to create, to start to crumble. The vice president fled to the northern region of Kurdistan and then to Turkey, which refused to extradite him. Meanwhile, he was sentenced to death by hanging, in Iraq, which sparked increased violence, reaching levels not seen since 2006. One could argue that the current war with ISIS is a direct result of America’s withdrawal and the actions of Nuri al-Maliki, the next day. However, it was bound to happen, one way or another, because it was prophesied in the Bible. The fact that they happened one day apart is just God’s way of calling attention to it. Prophecy fulfilled: In Sept-2013, whatever influence America had left in the region was lost when they decided not to fire cruise missiles at Assad, after it was suspected that he had used chemical weapons, which was a pre-defined ‘red line’. (Personally, I think the rebels exposed themselves to chemical weapons, either by accident or on purpose, to get the United States more involved, but that’s a different matter.) Republicans pushed Obama to enforce his ‘red line’ and fire a bunch of cruise missiles into Syria but British Parliament voted down any possible help in an attack. That prompted President Obama to let Congress vote on the matter, which never happened, but it revealed America’s reluctance to put ‘boots on the ground’ in the Middle East, no matter what. Just as Obama faced almost certain defeat in Congress, John Kerry made a hypothetical remark (possibly by accident) about Syria giving up their chemical weapons. Russian President Putin seized the moment and organized a diplomatic solution, through the U.N., that solved the problem more completely than cruise missiles ever could have. In one fail swoop, America’s influence was weakened and Russia’s was enhanced but that was also part of God’s plan because Russia is part of the “iron and clay” in Daniel 2. Not quite over for America Even though America lost considerable influence with their ‘no boots on the ground’ mentality, they haven’t lost their military power because ‘ships of the western coastlands’ are mentioned in verse 30, right before the ‘abomination’, which would include American ships, similar to the ones in this verse,either in the Mediterranean or Persian Gulf. Plus, America’s role continues in the next verse, concerning their nuclear agreement with Iran. It’s interesting, to me, that the ‘non-incident’ occurred almost exactly 12 years from 9/11/01, which spurred America’s involvement in the Middle East, to begin with. Once again, a democrat was needed because republicans were chomping at the bit to fire away. Yet, that would have been a terrible mistake because weakening Assad, at that time, might have just given Damascus to ISIS, in the long run. Hindsight is 20/20 but it’s interesting that the best solution turned out to be following Bible prophecy, even if Obama didn’t know he was doing it. Daniel 11:23After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. Well, it looks like that came true. And until recently, the possibility of such an agreement looked bleak but Iran’s new president, Hasan Rouhani, below, made a huge difference. The agreement was reached between Iran and the P5+1, on 11-24-2013, which America is a major part of. However, an independent gesture by the U.S. could have broke the ice and it’s interesting, to me, that it involved an ancient idol. Iran nuclear deal reachedCNN – November 24, 2013Quotes: "This is the first time in 33 years that Washington and Tehran have concluded a formal agreement.” This verse describes an agreement between the final empire and “him”, which I’ve been saying for years, sounds like the “prince of the covenant” from the previous verse, which would be the United States. The chalice that helped make possible the Iran nuclear dealL A Times – November 30, 2013Quote: In gesture of goodwill that helped lead to talks, the U.S. presented a gift to Iran: a silver chalice in the shape of a griffin that is thought to be an antiquity looted from an Iranian cave.It features three trumpet-shaped cups that sprout from the body of a griffin, a fabled creature that typically has the head and wings of a bird and the body of a lion. Finally, “with only a few people he will rise to power.”Prophecy Fulfilled. I think this part of verse 23 has already been satisfied because Iran has successfully united all the Shiite nations of the North, into a so-called Shiite crescent, stretching from Iran to Lebanon. The Saudi-Turkey cold war for Sunni hegemonyAl-Monitor [independent] – April 1, 2014Quote: Iran differs in that, as a result of the worsening situation in Iraq, it is now in complete control of the political Shiite sphere.This is a feat that none of its opponents can claim to have achieved, for neither Turkey nor Saudi Arabia nor an Islamist movement has been able to fully dominate the Sunni scene. The current Saudi-Turkish conflict is reminiscent of past relations between the Saudi kingdom and the Ottoman Empire. The conflict today, however, is not between Wahhabism and Sufism, but betweenIslamic Wahhabism and Islamic democracy. Iran and world powers reach historic nuclear agreementUSA Today – July 14, 2015 (text + Obama speech = 4:24 min.) If some weren’t convinced that the interim deal fulfilled this verse, a final deal has been reached, about 20 months later. Final Deal Completed condensed for clarity:11-02-2016Part 2: “the prince of the covenant is destroyed” In a sense, America’s presence in Iraq replaced one problem with another, in regards to Iran, because the majority ‘Christian’ United States was a staunch ally of Israel. In fact, I think that’s why America is called the “prince of the covenant” in this verse: because they have done more to help Israel with money and weapons, since their inception, than any other country. On the other hand, the term ‘destroyed’ doesn’t mean that the United States would cease to exist as a nation. On the contrary, it only meant that America’s influence in the Middle East would be diminished or their opposition to the final empire would be eliminated (similar to how the British were ‘destroyed’ in verse 20). As such, I don’t think anyone would argue that America’s relationship with Iran has taken a u-turn, in recent years. However, I’ve observed a few coincidences along the way that might convince people even more that God was in charge all along. After all, someone once said, “Coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.” Background The first major change in America’s status, in the Middle East, was their complete withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. The deadline was agreed upon in 2008, and set for the end of 2011, but as the deadline approached; the U.S. tried to get an extension for a small number of troops. However, the Iraqis refused to grant immunity from judicial prosecution so that prompted the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops on December 18, 2011. How America’s actions in 2003 contributed to ISIS America’s involvement in the Middle East (planned or not) directly contributed to the establishment of ISIS, as shown in these video clips, although radical Islam had already been created in Saudi Arabia, decades earlier. In fact, when you think about it, since the World Trade Center attack was carried out by mostly Saudis, and radical Wahabbism is what ISIS practices, and Saudi Arabia financed ISIS, at first, then it was really Saudi Arabia that actually created ISIS. America just fulfilled a prophecy by removing Saddam, which created the vacuum for everything else to happen. It was all part of God’s plan. Both video clips are from CNN / Fareed Zarkaria’s “Blindsided: How ISIS Shook the World”. It was a one-hour documentary but these two (3-minute) clips were the parts I found most interesting. Video 2 shows the stark contrast in the current leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is more scholarly than his predecessor. Al-Baghdadi was actually allowed to give Islamic lessons to deadly prisoners, in 2004, while in custody of the U.S. He was released, in Dec 2004, for good behavior. Video 1 shows how the founder of ISIS, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, admired the Trade Center attack but it wasn’t until America invaded Iraq, in 2003, and ousted the Sunnis, that Zarqawi became militant and started “Al-Qaeda in Iraq”, which later became ISIS.

In closing ... Zarqawi continued to fight American troops and was killed in an aerial bombing, in June 2006. Al-Baghdadi, who took over next, wasn’t heard of much until ISIS invaded Mosul, in June 2014. America’s departure from Iraq in 2011 (covered below) may have contributed to that also, but it was meant to happen because ISIS constitutes the “provinces”, in verse 24, that Iran ‘invades’. IS top command dominated by ex-officers in Saddam's armyAssociated Press [USA] – August 8, 2015Quotes: The group's second-in-command, al-Baghdadi's deputy, is a former Saddam-era army major, Saud Mohsen Hassan, ...During the 2000s, Hassan was imprisoned in the U.S.-run Bucca prison camp, the main detention center for members of the Sunni insurgency, where al-Baghdadi also was held.The prison was a significant incubator for the Islamic State group, bringing militants like al-Baghdadi into contact with former Saddam officers, including members ofspecial forces, the elite Republican Guard and the paramilitary force called Fedayeen.In Bucca's Ward 6, al-Baghdadi gave sermons and Hassan emerged as an effective organizer, leading strikes by the prisoners to gain concessions from their American jailers. This article emphasizes that Saddam’s elite forces were also confined with al-Baghdadi, in Camp Bucca, where he made important relationships. Many of those officers are now top-commanders in ISIS, which means ISIS is not just a bunch of inexperienced travelers coming together. The ‘Final Empire’: Rise of the Shiites (v.21)+ America’s role in End Times begins (v. 22-23)Introduction When you read Daniel 11, it’s fairly easy to see when major transitions occur, from one empire to the next, compared to details about that particular empire. If you look at it closely and divide it accordingly, you can see that it gets more detailed as it time goes by, which is what you would expect from a chapter about end times. That’s why it was “sealed until the time of the end” (Dan. 12:9), so humans couldn’t know too much too early. In general, Daniel 11 contains a timeline of empires from Daniel’s time until Armageddon but it contains one important event that Jesus emphasized called the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ in verse 31. As Jesus explained in Matthew 24:15-31, and clarified in Revelation, the ‘abomination’ is when the rapture will happen, and Jesus will appear in the sky with great glory, and the angels will gather the Christians to heaven. In short, that is a proven fact because Matt 24:29 matches the 6th Seal in Rev 6:12 and the multitude, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, are in heaven in Rev 7. As Jesus indicated in Matt 25:15, the ‘abomination’ is the critical event to watch for and He points to the Book of Daniel for more information. It just so happens that Daniel 11 is the most detailed list of events that lead to the ‘abomination’ so that’s why it was “sealed until the time of the end”, to keep humans guessing until the time was right. After all, God never said it would be sealed forever. Anyway, the ‘empire’ that starts in this verse is important because it’s the last major transition and the rest of the chapter are details, particularly leading to the abomination in verse 31. In fact, as of Nov-2016, we are most likely in Daniel 11:29-30, just before the abomination, so recognizing the correct interpretation of Daniel 11 is crucial to a timely understanding of end times, leading to the rapture. Other than the obvious reason of wanting Jesus to return so we can go to heaven, understanding Daniel 11 and end times can increase one’s faith because it literally proves that God exists, since He’s the only one that could make current events in the Middle East match Daniel 11, which was written 2500 years ago. Daniel 11:21He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. It’s pretty obvious that this verse describes the Islamic Revolution of Iran, in 1979. It had a monumental impact on the Middle East, which is still ongoing. It was important because it gave the Shiites a position of power again, which had dwindled for centuries. The leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, was never given the honor of royalty, even though he overthrew a monarch. Plus, the kingdom was not seized by normal military tactics; he inspired millions of citizens, by newspaper, to revolt against a perceived ‘westernization’. For background, the Safavids ruled Persia from 1501 to 1722, which are the modern ancestors of Iran because they were the ones who made Shia Islam the official religion of Persia. (vs 14) During their reign, they fought many battles with the Ottomans but they could never hold much of Mesopotamia (Middle East) for very long. After the Safavids lost power in 1722, the Shiites steadily lost influence in political affairs. Their power was diminished even more when the Pahlavi dynasty took the position of Shah, in 1925, and aligned itself with western powers, following WWI. In the 1970’s, Ayatollah Khomeini was living in exile in Paris but newspapers carried his speeches, which incited huge demonstrations because he claimed that the current Shah’s reforms were ‘westernizing’ Iran. The Shah must have felt pretty ‘secure’ because he had a well-equipped army and a secret service that was trained by the CIA and Israeli Mossad. Yet, his regime fell because the demonstrations escalated to 10% of the population (compared to 1% in the French and Russian revolutions). One could say that Khomeini ‘seized the nation through intrigue’ (secret plot or scheme) because he was an 80 year-old cleric, exiled to another country, without a standing army. When Khomeini returned from exile, he was not only hailed as supreme leader, but he was regarded as almost divine in nature. For example, in one of his speeches, Khomeini declared that his ‘guardianship’ of the law was from Muhammad so a revolt against his government was a revolt against God. [Revolutionary Iran, Michael Axworthy (2013), page 5] Therefore, the Islamic Revolution of 1979 essentially changed history because the Shiites were almost stamped out but now they are one of the top powers in the region. Yet, despite Khomeini’s popularity, he was ‘never considered royalty’because a theocratic republic was created. All things considered, there’s no question that Iran fulfilled Daniel 11:21. God’s “timeline of 37’s” If you’re not convinced by the various keywords, in this verse, or the keywords in all the verses before and after this one, then there’s one more thing that might convince you: God’s “timeline of 37’s.” To make a long story short, I stumbled onto the timeline while I was thinking about God’s riddle in Revelation 13:18, concerning the ‘calculation of man’s number’ and 666. Simply put, the calculation is 666 divided by the sum of its digits, which yields “37.” Mathematically: 666 / (6+6+6) = 37. Or: 666 / 18 = 37, which led to the discovery of several important events on Daniel 11’s timeline, which were multiples of 37-years from Muhammad’s initial vision in 610 AD, which started Islam. That’s why I call it God’s “timeline of 37’s.” By far, the biggest revelation of the timeline was when I discovered that the Islamic Revolution in Iran was exactly 37 x 37 years from Muhammad’s vision. That’s “man’s number” squared, connecting the beginning of Islam, in Daniel 11:5, to the beginning of the final empire in Daniel 11:21. Seriously, the odds of that happening by accident would be like hitting the lotto jackpot while getting struck by lightning. That should convince anyone that Iran fulfills Daniel 11:21.